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California History Timeline, October 21 to October 28

October 21

Railroads in 1861The San Francisco and Oakland Railroad was formed. The East Bay steam train system carried passengers to ferry terminals at the Oakland Mole and LaRue’s Wharf.

Post offices in 1864The Markleeville post office opened where Jacob Marklee built a toll bridge across the Carson River in 1861. Formerly known as Markleville, the Alpine County seat had a population of 210 in 2010.

Environment in 1865 An earthquake hit San Francisco. It lasted for 42 seconds and caused major damage throughout the city.

San Francisco (1864).

Hayward Earthquake

Environment in 1868A major earthquake, estimated at magnitude 7, struck the Hayward Fault. It created a sunken area in San Francisco that became called Pioche’s Lake. It was filled and rooming houses built there, which collapsed in the 1906 earthquake.

Business in 1869 The first shipment of fresh oysters was shipped West by railroad from Baltimore.

Environment in 1950 A statewide disaster was declared when floods caused nine deaths and $32 million in damage.

Mickey Wright, Sports Illustrated cover (1962).

Sports in 1962Mickey Wright won the LPGA Carlsbad Cavern Golf Open. Overall she won thirteen major championships and 82 LPGA Tour events.

Festivals in 1971 Half Moon Bay held its first Art and Pumpkin Festival. The winning pumpkin weighed 132 pounds.

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival winner (2012).

Sports in 1973Fred Dryer, Los Angeles Rams, became the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in one game by dumping opposing passers in the end zone twice in the fourth quarter.

Sports in 1973Dick Williams, Oakland A’s manager, quit after the A’s beat the New York Mets in the World Series.

Elton John (1979).

Hollywood in 1975Elton John was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Kardashian in 1980Kim Kardashian, personality-entrepreneur, was born in Los Angeles.

White in 1985Dan White committed suicide by carbon monoxide in his wife’s car. The former San Francisco Supervisor killed Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978. He served some 5 years after a defense called the “Twinkie defense.”

Rescues in 1989Buck Helm was rescued after being buried for four days after the Loma Prieta earthquake. Oakland rescue workers pulled him from the wreckage of the collapsed Nimitz Freeway. Helm died less than a month later.

Berry in 2003 Fred Berry, television actor, died in Los Angeles. He was best known as Fred “Rerun” Stubbs on “What’s Happening!!” (1976-1979).

Fires in 2007The Santiago Canyon Fire in Orange County was one of 23 wildfires whipped by Santa Ana winds across Southern California. One person near San Diego died, homes and a church destroyed in Malibu. The Buckweed fire burned 38,000 acres in the Santa Clarita area, north of Los Angeles. A child admitted to starting that fire while playing with matches.

Santiago Fire (2007).

Fires in 2010 An entire section of the Roseville Galleria, a high-end regional mall, was destroyed after Alexander Corney Pigee barricaded himself inside a video game store and started a fire.

October 22

UP 18, a third generation GTEL with four three axle “C” trucks, preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Railroads in 1934A Union Pacific diesel electric locomotive left Los Angeles for New York. It traveled across the continental in a record 56 hours and 55 minutes.

Boitano in 1963Brian Boitano, figure skater who won Olympic gold in 1988, was born in Mountain View.

Oakland Athletics logo.

Sports in 1972The Oakland A’s won their first World Series championship, beating the Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 3.

Sports in 1976Rick Barry, of the San Francisco Warriors, began a free throw streak of 60, the longest in NBA history at the time.

Rick Barry.

San Diego Fires radar 2007.

Fires in 1996Firestorms burned 35,000 acres in Malibu and San Diego County, destroying more than 60 homes.

Business in 1997Yahoo, in Sunnyvale, purchased Four11, a Web-based email business, for $92,000,000.

Yahoo!

Business in 2006The Oracle OpenWorld convention opened in San Francisco. Some 42,000 attendees were expected to pump $60 million into the city’s economy by the close on Oct 27.

Oracle Open World.

Suisun Bay “ghost fleet”.

Environment in 2009Officials in Benicia announced that ships in the Suisun Bay “ghost fleet” would be cleaned up and dismantled. The first were World War 2 cargo ships built in 1945.

October 23

Juan Bautista de Anza

Exploration in 1775Juan Bautista de Anza began his expedition from Mexico to begin a settlement in Alta California, leading frairs, soldiers and colonists with their families, horses, mules and cattle.

Movies in 1941“Dumbo,” the 4th Walt Disney Animated Classic, was released. It was made to recover the financial losses of “Fantasia,” and return to simplicity and economy. At 64 minutes, it is one of Disney’s shortest animated features.

Accidents in 1942All 12 passengers and crew aboard an American Airlines airliner were killed when it was struck by a U.S. Army Air Forces bomber near Palm Springs. Among the victims was composer and songwriter Ralph Rainger, “Blue Hawaii” (1937) and “Thanks for the Memory” (1938).

Television in 1958Smurfs, the blue dwarves created by the Belgian artist Peyo, first appeared as comic characters who became a popular Hanna-Barbera animated cartoon.

iPod (2001).

Business in 2001Apple released the iPod, advertising “1,000 songs in your pocket.” 275 million iPods were sold through September 1, 2010.

Lottery in 20037-Eleven owner Narinder Badwal in Santa Clara learned he sold the winning California Lottery ticket and earned a $250,000 commission. Then he learned he sold the winning ticket worth $49,747,500 to himself.

Nike Women’s Marathon (2013).

Sports in 2005Some 15,000 runners raised $14 million for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in the 2nd Annual Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco.

Skinner in 2006Todd Skinner, free climber, died in a fall at Yosemite National Park after his harness broke. He was 47 years old.

Energy in 2008A solar thermal power plant built by Ausra opened north of Bakersfield. The goal was to generate as much as 5 megawatts, enough electricity for 3,750 homes. Ausra and other companies planned bigger plants in the future.

Sports in 2010The San Francisco Giants won the National League championship, giving them their fourth World Series appearance since moving to San Francisco.

San Francisco Giants logo.

Solorio in 2012California surfer, Francisco Javier Solorio Jr., was killed in a shark attack off the coast of Surf Beach in Lompoc.

Surf Beach, Santa Barbara.

October 24

Transcontinental telegraph

Telegraph in 1861The telegraph from Carson City to Omaha opened. This milestone in modernization spelled the end of the Pony Express.

Crime in 1871A mob of white men in Los Angeles killed 18 Chinese immigrants in the largest mass lynching in U.S. history.

Mechanics Pavilion.

Festivals in 1879The first “Authors Carnival” opened in San Francisco as a fundraiser for six charities. 6,000 people attended. There were booths and performances by literary authors. It also ran the following year.

Sports in 1963 Sandy Koufax unanimously won the Cy Young Award. He also won unanimously in 1965 and 1966.

Gene Roddenberry.

Rodenberry in 1991Gene Rodenberry, creator of “Star Trek,” died in Santa Monica. His will stipulated that anybody who challenged his will would be disinherited. His daughter, Dawn, challenged and lost $500,000 he left to her.

Museums in 2000Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front opened in Richmond. The museum honors the efforts and sacrifices of American civilians on the World War II home front.

Flight in 2000The space shuttle Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base following the 100th shuttle flight and work on the International Space Station.

Backyard Poultry.

Public health in 2002Over 8,000 backyard poultry were killed in southern California to stop the spread of Exotic Newcastle disease. The deadly infection last surfaced in California in the 1970s when some 12 million birds were destroyed.

Business in 2003California won its first anti-spam judgment when a court fined PW Marketing, of Los Angeles County, $2 million for sending millions of unsolicited e-mails telling people how to spam.

Roybal in 2005Edward Roybal, former U.S. Representative from Los Angeles (1962-1992), died in Pasadena. He was the first Hispanic to serve in Congress since 1879.

Clongressman Edward Roybal.

Fires in 2007Fires in southern California destroyed some 1,500 homes and charred over 500,000 acres. Over half a million residents fled the area, the largest evacuation in state history.

Harris Fire, Mount Miguel (2007).

Butterflies are Free (1972).

Katselas in 2008 Milton Katselas, acting teacher and director, died in Los Angeles. He directed both the live theater (1969) and film (1972) versions of “Butterflies Are Free.”

McCarthy in 2011John McCarthy, cognitive scientist and computer science pioneer, died at his home on the Stanford campus. He was one of the founders of the discipline of artificial intelligence; coining the term “artificial intelligence”.

John McCarthy.

October 25

Government in 1849The Democratic Party in California formed at a meeting held in Portsmouth Square, which today is in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Portsmouth Square, 1849

Charles Bowles, also known as Black Bart.

Crime in 1879Charles Bowles, English born poet bandit known as Black Bart, held up Wells Fargo Stagecoaches 28 times. The 10th robbery was in Shasta County along the road to Buckeye.

Education in 1926Founders’ Rock, a 75-ton boulder, was dedicated at the University of California Los Angeles Westwood Campus.

UCLA Founders Rock

Literature in 1962John Steinbeck, born in Salinas, was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.

John Steinbeck

Katy Petty

Perry in 1984Singer, Katy Perry was born in Santa Barbara.

Graham in 1991Rock-and-roll impresario Bill Graham was killed in a helicopter crash in Sonoma County. A memorial concert in Golden Gate Park drew some 300,000 people with music by the Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and comedy by Robin Williams.

Bill Graham.

House Of Wax with Vincent Price postcard (1962).

Price in 1993Actor Vincent Price died in Los Angeles. He was a leading horror film actor of the 1940s to the early 1960s.

Business in 1999Intel, in Santa Clara, introduced its code-named Coppermine chip as the new Pentium III with speeds up to 500 megahertz. The internal circuitry was squeezed to .18 micron.

Intel logo (1968-2005).

Fires in 2003The Old Fire wildfire in the San Bernardino Mountains was one of over a dozen wildfires burning in Southern California.

Old Fire 2003

Bey in 2005Antar Bey, son and heir of Black Muslim leader Yusuf Bey, was shot and killed in Oakland. Police later arrested and charged Alfonza Phillips with murder in the failed car-jacking.

Loma Linda Firefighter’s Association.

Fires in 2009Fire broke out in the Santa Cruz Mountains between Morgan Hill and Santa Cruz. The Loma Fire covered 485 acres, was only 20% contained and burned until October 27.

Halprin in 2009Lawrence Halprin, San Francisco Bay Area landscape architect, designer and teacher, died in Kentfield at age 93. His work included the design of Sea Ranch (1964) and San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square (1968).

Keller Fountain in Portland (1995).

Magnes Museum.

Fromer in 2009Seymour Fromer, founder of the Berkeley-based Judah Magnes Museum, died. Judah Magnes (1877-1948) was the first ordained rabbi in California.

Crime in 2011Democratic Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi of Castro Valley was stopped by a security detail at Nieman Marcus after she left the store with unpaid items worth $2450.

October 26

Ranchos in 1843Rancho Cienega del Gabilan was deeded. The name of this 48,781-acre rancho near present day Salinas means “spring of the hawk ranch.”

Sunset Over the Gabilan Mountains, from the Salinas Valley.

Pony Express rider

Pony Express in 1861The Pony Express announced its closure two days after the transcontinental telegraph reached Salt Lake City and connected Omaha, Nebraska with Sacramento.

Transportation in 1869The Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad opened. This 21-mile line connected L.A. with the San Pedro Bay shipping harbor. San Gabriel, the engine, was built by Vulcan Iron Works of San Francisco in 1864.

The San Gabriel.

Transportation in 1903
The Key System ferries began to cross San Francisco Bay. This completed an extensive rail and ferry network serving Oakland.

Key System map.

Energy in 1936The first electric generator at Hoover Dam went into full operation, providing power to Southern California.

Hoover Dam.

Hattie McDaniel won Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1939

McDaniel in 1952Hattie McDaniel, film actress, died in Woodland Hills at age 57. She is best-known as Mammy in “Gone with the Wind” (1939) for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first African American to win an Academy Award.

Sports in 1960American League officials approved the Washington Senators move to become the Minnesota Twins and announced franchises in Los Angeles and Washington DC.

“Frowning Alcatraz, Key of San Francisco” (1866)

Parks in 1972National Park Service guided its first tours of Alcatraz. Now some 1.5 million people visit yearly.

Sports in 1981The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series, 4 games to 2.

Los Angeles Dodgers (1981).

Intel logo (1968-2005).

Business in 1997Intel Corp., in Santa Clara, bought Digital Equipment for $700 million.

Environment in 1997
Hundreds of shorebirds washed up dead along the 25-mile stretch of Monterey Bay beaches. A non-toxic oil had been spilled into the bay and stuck the birds’ feathers together. The source of the oil spill was not determined.

Anaheim Angels (2002).

Sports in 2002The Anaheim Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, 4-3.

Museums in 2006The old U.S. Mint in San Francisco held a ceremony to mint silver coins. A portion of the proceeds of sales from silver dollars and $5 gold pieces helped turn the 132-year-old structure into a history museum.

Protests in 2007In San Francisco thousands of people called for a swift end to the war in Iraq as they marched through downtown, chanting and carrying signs that read: “Wall Street Gets Rich, Iraqis and GIs Die” or “Drop Tuition Not Bombs.”

Drop Tuition Not Bombs!

Tesla.

Business in 2010Elon Musk officially unveiled a new sign for the former Nummi plant in Fremont, where the new electric Tesla cars would be built.

Business in 2010BrightSource Energy of Oakland, broke ground on a solar electric generating system in the Mohave Desert.

Harsh in 2012
William Harsh, California painter, died at his home in Benicia.

William Harsh, Endgame.

October 28

Exploration in 1769Gaspar de Portolà’s expedition camped at Half Moon Bay. They began marching from San Diego on July 14, 1769, looking for Monterey Bay to establish a colony but overshot their goal and would soon find San Francisco Bay.

Pio Pico

Missions in 1845Pio Pico, the last governor of Mexican California, finalized the sale of the missions, a process that began with Mexican independence from Spain in in 1821. Pico was of African, Indian and Spanish descent.

Overland Trail in 1846James Reed reached Sutter’s Fort after being expelled from the wagon train for killing a man in a fight. He organized a rescue party but deep snow blocked him from reaching his family.

James and Margaret Reed.

Transcontinental Air Transport flight attendant serves tea (1929).

Movies in 1929Universal Pictures, headquartered in Los Angeles, joined with Transcontinental Air Transport to offer in-flight movies for air passengers bound for California.

Sports in 1973
Elmore Smith, of the Los Angeles Lakers, blocked 17 shots in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers, a NBA record.

Elmore Smith (1973).

Oakland Athletics logo.

Sports in 1989
The Oakland A’s won the earthquake-interrupted World Series, completing a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants.

Amsterdam in 1996
Morey Amsterdam, comedian and television actor, died in Los Angeles at age 87. He was best known as Buddy Sorrell on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1961-1966).

Morey Amsterdam.

Fires in 2003
Fires burned 600,000 acres in Southern California that involved over 11,000 fire fighters. Arson was suspected in 10 fires. 20 people died. In 2009, Rickie Lee Fowler was indicted on murder and arson charges for a 2003 wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in San Bernadino County and in 2013, he was given the death penalty.

San Diego Wild Fires (2003).

Martin in 2008
Bill Martin, Mendocino realist painter and art teacher, died in Stanford at age 65.

Bill Martin.

Intel logo (1968-2005).

Business in 2010
Intel, in Santa Clara, announced plans to team up with Taiwan to set up a multi-million dollar Internet computing research laboratory.

Protests in 2011
Police arrested 51 people in San Diego who occupied Civic Center Plaza and Children’s Park for three weeks. Occupy San Diego protesters vowed to return to the civic plaza behind City Hall.

Occupy San Diego.

San Francisco Giants logo.

Sports in 2012San Francisco Giants defeated the Detroit Tigers in game four to take the 2012 World Series. Pablo Sandoval was the Most Valuable Player.